Jury Awards Oregon Woman $18.6M Over Credit Report

A federal jury in Oregon has awarded $18.6 million to a woman who spent two years unsuccessfully trying to get Equifax Information Services to fix major mistakes on her credit report.

The Oregonian reported that the award is likely to be appealed.

Equifax is one of the nation’s major credit bureaus.

Julie Miller of Marion County on Friday was awarded $18.4 million in punitive damages and $180,000 in compensatory damages.

The jury was told she contacted Equifax eight times between 2009 and 2011 in an effort to correct inaccuracies, including erroneous accounts and collection attempts, as well as a wrong Social Security number and birthday. Her lawsuit alleged the Atlanta-based company failed to correct the mistakes.

One of her lawyers, Justin Baxter, says her reputation was damaged and she lost the opportunity to seek credit.

An Equifax spokesman, Tim Klein, said Friday he had no details about the decision. He declined comment on the specifics of the case.

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